Someone who read my article said, ‘The maintenance fee in condo is the negative part’. Truth is, I also feel the pinch because if you stay in the typical landed property, there is no maintenance fee to be paid. I admit, on average I have used the gym just once per month last year. I have been to the pool just twice last year. I have just done 2 brisk walks per month around my condo last year. Thus, in total, I am really paying a lot when I compare my usage versus my maintenance fee.
Nevertheless, let us look at it this way. When you sign up for a gym nearby your office, do you go there often? My guess is of course! However, when you start to slack a little, do you terminate your membership immediately? Why not? Perhaps the reason is, you feel that one of these days, you’ll be active again and thus the membership is necessary instead of you signing up as new member again.
The maintenance fee that you pay ensures that when you need to be away, there are security for your family via the guards and working security systems. It ensures you have a pool when you suddenly feel that you MUST SWIM on that day. It meant that you can invite your close friends over for BBQ just that one time a year. It ensures your condo is looked after and thus ready to sold when you want to upgrade. 🙂
Most importantly, when all these are done right, the price of your condo would go up every year. Let’s assume just a conservative 1% up every year? For a RM500,000 condo, it’s a capital appreciation of RM5,000 per year. If I am paying RM2,500 maintenance fee per year, get to enjoy all the facilities and security, I will pay. This is just my personal opinion.
Next Suggested Article: Landed versus Condo
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